Model Congress - Bill Format - Teacher's Notes - 2013

113th Congress
1st Session
H.R. (Add your # here)
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 15, 2013
Mr./Ms. (Add your name here) introduced the following bill,
which was referred to the Committee on ____________________.
Student of (Add your teacher’s name here) Period (Add your period here)
A BILL
To (describe the general purpose of the law here)
Provide a general explanation of your bill: 1-2 sentences
1. Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of
2. American in Congress assembled, that this Act may be cited as the (type the title of you
3. bill here).
4. The Content of the Bill is as follows:
5. Section I:
6. In paragraph form, the first section should address your proposed bill by addressing the
7. following: (Model Congress Bill – Part I)
8.  What is the current law? This is the background information that justifies why the
9. current law doesn’t work and why we need your proposed law. You need to use
10. statistics, facts and figures to back-up and explain the problem and to propose your
11. solution. If there is a current law that relates to your idea, explain why it needs to
12. be changed or is no longer needed.
13.  Justify why this topic falls within federal jurisdiction. Explain why this is a federal
14. issue and not a state issue. Where in the Constitution is Congress given the power
15. to address this issue? If it is not enumerate (or expressed), then explain the implicit
2
1. reason(s).
2.  What is your law? Give details on exactly what the law is intended to do…That
3 does it apply to? What are the provisions? How long does it last? Be specific!!!
4.
5. Section II: (This section will start wherever Section I ends)
6. In paragraph form, this section should address how the law is going to be enforced and
7. needs to include the following: (Model Congress Bill – Part II)
8.  What part of the bureaucracy (be specific about the department or agency) within
9. the executive branch will execute the law?
10.  Explain the judicial powers the above department or agency will have in order to
11. execute the law – jail (how long), fine (who receives the money), etc.
12.
13. Section III: (This section will start wherever Section II ends)
14. In paragraph form, this section should provide a cost-benefit analysis of your proposed
15. law and needs to address the following: (Model Congress Bill – Part III)
16.  Who benefits from the passing of your law? Which interest groups would benefit?
17. Be specific on the tangible benefits of that particular group.
18.  What is the cost of law? Not necessarily in monetary terms, but what is the cost to
19. society as a whole or a particular group. Basically, who (which group) would be
20. hurt by the passage of you law? Try to anticipate any unintended consequences as
21. well.
22.  End the section with the date the new law would go into effect.
X Signature
Honorable Representative (Your Last Name)
At the bottom of the page or on a separate page include a bibliography with at
least three (3) sources in proper MLA format.